Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Special Education Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Special Education Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

77 Colleges
$11,397 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$49,761 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Special Education Master's Degree School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, special education was ranked #29 in the country. In fact 36,792 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Special Education Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 77 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for special ed students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Special Education Master's Degree Colleges.

Top 15% Best Special Education Master's Degree Schools

#1

Wisconsin Lutheran College

Milwaukee, WI

Our 2023 rankings named Wisconsin Lutheran College the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for special education students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Milwaukee, WLC is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

WLC graduate students pay an average of $10,080 in tuition and fees each year.

WLC also claimed a spot on our Best Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.

Full Special Education at Wisconsin Lutheran College Report

#2

Ashland University

Ashland, OH

The excellent master’s degree programs at Ashland University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value special education schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the fringe town of Ashland, Ashland is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Ashland graduate students pay an average of $6,972 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Special Education at Ashland University Report

#3

Spring Arbor University

Spring Arbor, MI

Out of the 77 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Spring Arbor University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Spring Arbor, Spring Arbor is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Spring Arbor graduate students pay an average of $8,383 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Special Education at Spring Arbor University

Out of the 77 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Illinois State are $11,773 per year.

Illinois State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read full report on Special Education at Illinois State University

#5

Muskingum University

New Concord, OH

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Muskingum University is a great value for special education students working on their master’s degree. Muskingum is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of New Concord.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Muskingum are $10,350 a year.

Read More…

#6

Trinity Christian College

Palos Heights, IL

Trinity Christian College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the suburb of Palos Heights, Trinity Christian is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Trinity Christian are $10,708 per year.

Read More…

#7

Carroll University

Waukesha, WI

Carroll University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Carroll U is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Waukesha.

Carroll U graduate students pay an average of $13,719 in tuition and fees each year.

Carroll U excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Full Special Education at Carroll University Report

#8

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL

Concordia University, Chicago came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Concordia University, Chicago is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of River Forest.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Concordia University, Chicago are $9,378 per year.

Read full report on Special Education at Concordia University, Chicago

#9

Youngstown State University

Youngstown, OH

Youngstown State University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Youngstown State University are $6,931 a year.

Read full report on Special Education at Youngstown State University

Northern Illinois University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Special Education Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. NIU is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at NIU are $11,390 per year.

Full Special Education at Northern Illinois University Report

With a ranking of #11, Baldwin Wallace University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for special education students working on their master’s degree. Baldwin Wallace College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Berea.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Baldwin Wallace College are $11,363 a year.

Read full report on Special Education at Baldwin Wallace University

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Special Education Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
12 Concordia University, Wisconsin Mequon, WI
13 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL
14 Alverno College Milwaukee, WI
15 Xavier University Cincinnati, OH

Best Special Education Colleges by State

Explore the best special education schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 607
Ohio 1,329
Illinois 1,153
Indiana 2,282
Wisconsin 598

Special Education is one of 14 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Special Ed

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 110,226
Educational Administration 46,469
Teacher Education Subject Specific 43,297
General Education 29,810
Curriculum & Instruction 19,832

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to woodleywonderworks.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.